title: MlWRKY12, a novel Miscanthus transcription factor, participates in pith secondary cell wall formation and promotes flowering.
abstract: WRKY proteins play crucial roles in various plant processes. An AtWRKY12 homologous gene, named MlWRKY12, was isolated from Miscanthus lutarioriparius. The MlWRKY12 gene encodes a WRKY transcription factor belonging to the group IIc subfamily. MlWRKY12 is a nuclear protein. Gene expression pattern analysis revealed a relatively high MlWRKY12 expression level in rhizomes, stems and leaf sheaths. In situ hybridization analysis further demonstrated that MlWRKY12 was expressed in vascular bundle sheath, sclerenchyma and parenchyma tissues. The heterologous expression of MlWRKY12 in an atwrky12 background mutant successfully rescued the phenotype of pith cell walls caused by the defect of AtWRKY12. Most strikingly, the transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing MlWRKY12 exhibited early flowering. The transcript abundance of flowering related genes was measured by quantitative RT-PCR analysis, suggesting that overexpression of MlWRKY12 in Arabidopsis had a significant impact on the expression level of CONSTANS (CO). Moreover, the expression levels of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), LFY (LEAFY), APETALA1 (AP1), CAULIFLOWER (CAL) and FRUITFULL (FUL) were upregulated in transgenic plants. These results demonstrated the conserved function of MlWRKY12 existing in secondary cell wall formation of monocotyledonous species and implied a possible impact of MlWRKY12 on flowering control.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biofuels, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao Institute of BioEnergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (QIBEBT-CAS), Qingdao, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Yanchong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Ruibo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Huamei
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yingping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Guo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Chunxiang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Gongke
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000502:physiology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D005875:Gibberellins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017440:Photoperiod; D010802:Phylogeny; D059828:Plant Cells / Q000502:physiology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D006109:Poaceae / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016335:Zinc Fingers
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D005875:Gibberellins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C007842:gibberellic acid
keywords: Flowering time; Miscanthus; MlWRKY12; Secondary cell wall